James' late heroics lift Heat past Grizzlies

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Miami, FL (Sports Network) - It wasn't the offensive onslaught we're
accustomed to seeing from LeBron James, but when his team needed a bucket, the
Miami superstar stepped up.

James poured in 14 points in the fourth quarter, including a clutch 3-pointer
late in regulation to help the Heat extend their win-streak to 13 games with a
98-91 triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies at AmericanAirlines Arena.

James finished with 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, while Dwyane
Wade led the way with 22 points and eight assists in Miami's 11th straight
home victory.

"I am just feeling good about picking my spots and just being aggressive and
mix in going to the basket and shooting my outside shot," said James. " I am
in a groove right now from that standpoint of my confidence and hopefully I
can stay locked in for a while."

"We wanted to win (the game) and we couldn't pull it off," said Gasol. "They
made a couple of big plays in the end. LeBron (James) made a big three
(towards the end of the game)."

The back-and-forth contest featured 15 lead changes and 10 ties, with the last
one coming with 2:44 to play when Gasol buried two free throws to knot the
game at 85-85.

Chris Bosh converted a three-point play at the other end, and after Quincy
Pondexter missed a trey from the corner, James grabbed the board and sprang
Wade for a fastbreak dunk to make it 90-85 with 2:04 left.

Gasol answered with four straight points to bring Memphis within one with 42.5
ticks remaining, but with the shot clock winding down at the other end, James
drained a triple from the top of the key with 24.2 left.

James was able to put the game away from the line, as he connected on 5-of-6
from the charity stripe down the stretch to help the Heat hang on.

With James struggling to score in the early going, Wade and Ray Allen provided
the offensive firepower. Wade finished the first half with 10 points, while
Allen connected on 2-of-3 from 3-point range en route to eight points.

Miami shot 45.5 percent (15-for-33) from the field over the opening 24 minutes
and held the Grizzlies without a 3-point field goal (0-for-3) to take a slim
42-41 edge into the locker room.

Neither team made any headway in a tightly-contested third frame that featured
six lead changes and three ties.

The Heat opened the second half with five straight points to push their lead
to six, but Memphis responded with eight straight points to jump in front.

It remained nip-and-tuck from there, as Shane Battier's 3-pointer with 34.5
seconds left in the third allowed the Heat to turn a two-point deficit into a
one-point lead heading into the fourth.

Game Notes

Battier finished 4-for-5 from long range en route to 14 points ... Bosh
totaled 13 points, while Allen added 10 for the Heat ... Pondexter poured in
10 points for Memphis ... Miami improved to 26-3 at home, while Memphis fell
to 15-11 on the road ... Miami shot 46.6 percent (34-for-73) from the field
overall, including 52.6 percent (10-for-19) from beyond the arc.